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Are you recruiting for a job opportunity in digital/online learning?
Are you looking to fill an awesome alternative academic (alt-ac) role?
If so, please get in touch—as I want to help spread the word about the job posting.
To kick off this series of featured gigs, the job posting I want to share is Managing Director of Online Education at the University of Virginia.
To learn more about this role, I asked Kemi Jona, vice provost for online education and digital innovation at UVA, to answer some questions about the position.
Q1: What is the university mandate behind this role? How does it help align with and advance the university’s strategic priorities?
A: Our 2030 Strategic Plan calls on the university to expand the reach of its educational programs. Specifically, the plan states, “As the world evolves, people across the Commonwealth of Virginia and the nation will have increased needs for developing skills to help them prepare for new jobs or career advancement. As a state-supported university, we feel a particular responsibility to serve the Commonwealth by expanding educational opportunities, both in person and online, for working adults in the Commonwealth and beyond—especially the 1.1 million Virginians who have some college credits but have not yet received a degree.”
In my view, this provides a very clear mandate for the work the person filling this role will be responsible for leading. The very fact that this language is included in our strategic plan means that there is a shared sense of purpose for this work at the very highest levels of the university.
Q2: Where does the role sit within the university structure? How will the person in this role engage with other units and leaders across campus?
A: This new role will report directly to me as part of the Office of the Provost. The Managing Director will be part of strategic discussions with deans and institute directors, with colleagues in the provost’s and president’s offices, and will work hand-in-hand with faculty and staff developing and running our online and hybrid programs.
As the team grows, the Managing Director will directly supervise a high-performing team that will add expertise and capacity to support our schools in realizing their strategic goals.
Q3: What would success look like in one year? Three years? Beyond?
A: I think that within one year, the Managing Director will have brought on several key new hires as well as engaged with outside consultants and vendors to round out the expertise and services we wish to provide our partner schools.
He or she will have developed a trusted working relationship and strong rapport with colleagues across campus (we call it Grounds) and will have significantly enhanced or helped launch one or more online or hybrid programs.
A successful Managing Director will also facilitate communities of practice that bring together key administrators, faculty, and staff engaged in the work of expanding access to our programs beyond Grounds.
In three years, I imagine we will be that much further along in our journey with this work and will have earned our place as a key part of the university’s success in meeting the goals laid out in the 2030 Plan.
Q4: What kinds of future roles would someone who took this position be prepared for?
A: The person in this position would be preparing to step into a top leadership position in higher education, online education and digital innovation. Different universities have different titles, so it’s a bit tricky to pick just one. Assistant, Associate or Vice Provost for Online Education would be a likely title. I have a bunch of friends and colleagues in this role, and they all have different titles.
We are starting to see people in these roles step into provost and president roles, albeit in small numbers so far. Further down the road, if someone in this role had that ambition, I could see it being a real possibility at a smaller or predominately online institution.
